Summer football will prove a dilemma for Newport County players out of contract, says Andrew Penman

All English Football League fixtures are currently suspended until at least April 30 due to the coronavirus crisis, but it seems almost certain that the disruption will go on much longer than that.

It looks like we will see summer football this year if the pandemic can be brought under control by June or July and that will create a lot of logistical problems for clubs like County.

Of course, it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of lower-league football clubs don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.

But they are important to the clubs and clubs like County are important to the fans.

“We’re all in limbo,” explained Exiles boss Michael Flynn when he was interviewed on BBC Radio Wales last Friday.

“We don’t know when it’s going to peak or how long it’s going to last for when it does peak.

“I think it was a sensible decision to postpone until that date (April 30) because it gives you just over a month look at things and evaluate where we’re at.

“But the longer it goes on, the harder it will be. Unless you can try to start back in June.

“My personal thoughts are you could start back at the end of June, use July as pre-season and start games again in August. And then you probably start the new season in mid-October.

“It’s not ideal but at least everyone gets a fair crack of the whip and relegation and promotion issues are settled.”

Almost everyone agrees that we need to complete the 2019-2020 campaign before we contemplate next season.

But playing on beyond June 30, which looks increasingly likely, would cause a big issue as that is the date that the majority of footballers’ contracts come to an end.

Flynn has been criticised by some fans for handing out so many two-year contracts last summer, but that could well work in County’s favour this summer.

Goalkeeper Tom King, defenders Mickey Demetriou, Mark O’Brien, Kyle Howkins, Marvel Ekpiteta, Dan Leadbitter, Ashley Baker and Ryan Haynes, midfielders Matty Dolan, Joss Labadie, Josh Sheehan, Lewis Collins, Corey Whitely and Robbie Willmott and strikers Ade Azeez, Tristan Abrahams and Padraig Amond are all under contract until the summer of 2021.

Leadbitter and Baker are currently suffering from what were believed to be ‘season-ending’ injuries, but they may be fit by the summer so Flynn should have at least 17 players available to him once the action resumes.

Youngsters Dom Jefferies and Joe Woodiwiss should also be available if needed.

But loan deals for Ryan Inniss, George Nurse, Dale Gorman, Otis Khan, Billy Waters and Jordan Green will have ended by then and they may not be able to complete the season with the Exiles.

Of greater concern is that goalkeeper Nick Townsend, utility man Scot Bennett and strikers Momodou Touray, Dominic Poleon and Jamille Matt (above) are all out of contract after June 30.

Touray and Poleon are unlikely to be offered new deals but Flynn is likely to want to keep hold of Townsend, Bennett and Matt.

Bennett and Matt have been key men ever since they arrived at the club, while Townsend is an able deputy to number one King.

They could potentially sign temporary extensions to their current deals, adding an extra month or two to the contracts, but not many players would be keen to do that with the risk of an injury potentially costing them a move elsewhere.

Ideally all three will be offered new contracts up until the summer of 2021 but there are also big financial worries for clubs in the current climate and, despite the EFL announcing a £50m short-term relief fund last week, some tough decisions may have to be made.

“It is absolutely welcomed and I think the EFL need to be applauded,” said County chairman Gavin Foxall over the weekend.

“I am aware there are other clubs in League Two that have struggled with paying their wages this season.

"Thankfully we haven't been in that position, but ultimately we are a business and there are not many businesses that can sustain a period of time where they are not getting the source of income but they have still got the same outgoings.

"So as a board you can imagine we are planning accordingly. The difficulty to all this of course is that generally when you put a plan in place there is a date attached to it, there is an end game, and at the moment we're not sure what that end game looks like."

Read more: Newport County players will need 'mini pre-season' before return to action, says Michael Flynn